GoingTrueGreen's Blog Postings - Going True Green

Going True Green Blog:

With the start of our new GTG Blog on EarthDay 2013, we are occasionally renewing our old "postings" dating back from 1987. Please watch our "How To" instructional videos on posting your comments to GTG's Blog and use the RSS Feed on the right to receive notice for a new Posting. Also visit the back Story (Blog Preface) behind all this!
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Caught Looking! Strike Three!

5/16/2018

The WSJ printed an article on May 13, 2018 with the title:
Recycling, Once Embraced by Businesses and Environmentalists Now Under Siege

Wall Street Journal, The Wall Street Journal, Bob Tita, Recycle, single stream recycling, multi-layer recycling, going green, sustainability, Bill Lauto, Recycling, environment

Back on February 17, 2016 I posted on my Going True Green Blog: Is Recycling Striking Out? So just over two years later, we have a serious situation for township's recycling programs. A situation that was rapidly developing when I posted my blog and asked if America's Recycling programs would be caught "Looking" at Home plate for strike three. With the Wall Street Journal's article, I believe we just heard the umpire yell, "You're Out!"

America continued recycling the same easy and cheap way only to now find ourselves sending unwanted recyclable items to Landfills again. I strongly suggest for everyone to read my 2016 Going True Green blog post again, the Link is above in Green, and then look up the WSJ article by Bob Tita. As individual's we need to notify our Town's Recycling Departments that we need to go back to the multi-layer sorting system and that we are not allergic to work. We are all capable of spending a few extra minutes to sort our paper from plastic and glass from cardboard, before putting it to the curb. The bottom line is the fact that, "Three strikes you're out" does not just apply to America's past time called Baseball.

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
Contribute your comments!

Toilet Paper Progression

11/27/2017

toilet paper, TP, Cardboard, going green, colored toilet paper, environmental harm,

Cardboard Tube Free

Toilet paper, aka TP, is a product that is considered very useful to say the least. Yet, perhaps we can do better to save Money, Energy, and help our Environment.

Most rolls of toilet paper come with a cardboard tube in the center that creates a great deal of waste, especially because a small percentage of cardboard tubes are being recycled. Recent statistics present that each year in America we use enough cardboard tubes to fill the entire square footage of the Empire State building in New York.

We are paying more money per roll for that cardboard tube, while manufacturers are using more energy to produce and use them. Additionally, the negative impact on our environment each year is probably unmeasurable.

Thankfully another TP roll has been developed and we can all consider taking action to help move toward true green. As shown in the photograph, toilet paper rolls are available without a cardboard tube. The rolling curves of paper in the center function as the tube of cardboard. The only slight draw back I experienced is with one of our toilet paper dispensers. This dispenser has a wide mounting pin or dowel to hold the roll of toilet paper. These wider center mounting pins or dowels, are on various toilet paper dispensers. When restocking this dispenser with a new roll of toilet paper without the cardboard tube, I need to expand and widen the center curves of toilet paper at the center of the roll. This then facilitates an easier installation over the dispenser’s dowel.

Regarding the job positions producing these cardboard tubes, please realize no jobs should be lost with a little creativity. Young children in every American school should be learning about recycling cardboard. They also build, make, and create projects in classes between K to 5 grade and then in art classes. Cardboard and cardboard tubes are a key element with making turkeys for Thanksgiving to telescopes and from bridges to buildings. A simple shift in production to packages of different sized cardboard tubes and sheets, will make ordering and creating much easier for every grade school teacher.

Our hope at Going True Green is to see center cardboard tubes for toilet paper go the way of colored toilet paper. Matching colors in our bathrooms with the same color toilet paper reached tremendous popularity in the 1970s. However, toilet paper in various colors cost us more to buy compared to plain white toilet paper, production was wasting energy in the name of vanity and the dye in colored toilet paper was proven to be harmful to our environment. Finally in 2004, production of toilet paper with colors was stopped.

Unfortunately, some Novelty companies have started production again to meet the demands of certain "celebrities" and others. Red, Black, and Glow in the Dark toilet paper can be found online today with biodegradable and nontoxic claims to help entice the buyer.

Please distinguish between want and need. I certainly do not need to use Glow-in-the-Dark toilet paper that costs Ten Dollars a roll along with a cardboard tube in the center.

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
Contribute your comments!

Fertilizer Out Of Thin Air

8/14/2017

Lightning, Thunder Storm, fertilizer, save money, sustainable living, going green, going true green, static electricity, you can't get money out of thin air, or can you?

Lightning from Space: NASA Image

Many of us have heard of sayings such as: “Money doesn’t grow on trees” and “You can’t just make money appear out of thin air.”

Well, let us try this… How would you like to know how you can save money by getting something for Free “Out Of Thin Air?” Too good to be true, right? This time the answer is TRUE!

Do you have flowers, plants, or crops? Do you spend money on buying fertilizer to help your garden grow? If yes, then you are wasting your money on a product that you really don’t need because you can get fertilizer for free out of thin air!

When a lightning storm occurs, that will naturally fertilize all living plants! The science behind this is as follows: Lightning causes the nitrogen molecules in the air to cling to the oxygen molecules. This bond forms nitrogen oxides. The nitrogen oxides will either fall from the sky or be collected by the rain drops. Fertilizer’s main ingredient is nitrogen. So stop buying a product that God provides to us for free.

Now to enhance this Free benefit from the sky, many farmers will run bare copper wiring around copper stakes to form a loop around the flower patch or tomato plants. The copper wire will attract static electricity and add more nitrogen to the soil. However, I found the following to be an easier step and a better solution.

First, nitrogen from lightning will not be enough for many plants to grow as strong or as big as you may like. However, that is seen by some people as one’s own opinion. NASA has data showing that more than 2,000 thunderstorms take place around the world at any given time. Combined, these storms produce at least 100 lightning flashes per second. Yet, in addition to nitrogen helping plant life, so does bacteria. That is the extra step I take to fertilizer my plants and food that I grow. COMPOSTING.

I make my own dirt, aka Top Soil, aka Fertilizer. To read more about how to fertilize for free and save even more money, go to my GoingTrueGreen.com Blog dated 4-7-2015 under the Topic called Composting. The title of the blog is: There Is Money In Composting

These are just two more Going True Green actions to living a more sustainable life that saves you money, energy, health, and our environment! Now that is Going True Green.

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
Contribute your comments!

Upper Room, BBV Publishing, Jesus, Shroud of Turin, Christ, apostles, Jesus' burial cloth

Read a Historical Novel that presents data based probabilities proving the truth.
Below, view the original Book Trailer

My Last BBQ Grill!

7/30/2017

propane, propane gas, gas grills, propane gas grills, BBQ, cooking outdoors, grilling and costs, saving money BBQ, going true green, going green, sustainable living

I stretched the use of my gas BBQ Grill out for the longest run ever... 5 years. Depending on the brand, I usually get 3 or 4 years use from my propane tank gas grills. I don't know about any of you, but I say that sucks. Two of my four burners are now done and the replacement cost is more than half the cost of a new basic grill. AND there is the trap! I fell for this 2 times, but no more.

I am done with buying crap that doesn't last, I am making my on grill with fire bricks and parts from my old grill. My grandparents built their own grills and pizza ovens!
So will I and here is why:

New grill: $200.00 (3 to 5 year life)
Tank fill up: $20.00 (two fill ups per year, $40.00)
Generic Cover to save money: $29.00 (lasted 2.5 years)
Manufacturer's Cover to last longer: $47.00 (lasted less than 2 years)
Also note that a date is stamped on the collar of each gas tank for when it was made. With a 20 pound propane tank you have 12 years before the tank needs to be re-certified. Then you must re-certify every 5 years. The cost of a new certified tank almost always costs less than re-certification.

VS

Costs for material to build BBQ: $200.00 (my labor, will last 50 years)
Apple Wood Pellets: $29.00 for 40 pounds. (1.5 bags per year)
I will not use coal, too many carcinogens.
Box of Stick Matches: $3.96 for 300 (will last years)

I think in the long run, this will not only save money, but be much more sustainable while helping our environment. Now, I am done with this BBQ blog.

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
Contribute your comments!

Telomeres, Telomere, Cold Spring Harbor Lab, hitler, world war two, L. J. Williams, BBV Publishing

TELOMERE, by L. J. Williams "Telling The Untold Stories™ BBV Publishing

Watch Video Trailer for the Novel Telomere below...

Wipe Your Mouth!

7/7/2017

sustainability, living a sustainable life, paper napkins, cloth napkins, paper vs cloth, going green, going true green, saving energy, saving water, saving money

Paper Napkins vs Cloth

When I was young I heard that request many times, after all, I was in a rush to get back “outside” and play. If I was playing inside, that meant rain was falling or night had arrived and I was busy inventing a board game or making a motor driven jeep from my Erector Set for G. I. Joe. But I digress…

As an individual and as a family what Napkin is more beneficial to use,
Paper or Cloth?

To present all the different analysis done over the years that worked to determine what is best to use when eating, a Paper Napkin or Cloth Napkin, will be mostly dull reading. So many considerations, such as materials used in production, consumption of natural resources, added costs with color prints on paper napkins, the cleaning impact for reuse (wash and dry), or discarding in the trash.

The number of paper napkins used in America per year is mind spinning and reusing cloth napkins consumes everything from water to energy. However, if used with a few guide lines, cloth napkins are the most sustainable by saving us the most Money, Energy, Health, and our Environment.

So here are the guidelines I recommend so your change over to cloth napkins will save all around:

Buy in bulk and buy around twelve cloth napkins for each member of the family. This will provide enough cloth napkins when company comes over to eat and will avoid running out of cloth napkins in case nobody was able to do the wash on time.
Buy plain White cloth napkins (Not whiten by a bleach process)
Buy Linen napkins, not cotton
Always wash with other clothes
Wash in COLD water
Use a more environmental friendly detergent
Use a clothes line to dry or visit my pervious blog on How to SAVE the most with What dryer!
When the Linen napkins are worn out, wash and then Compost them!

So for all my young followers reading this, when you are done eating, please do the following:
Wipe your mouth, ask for permission to leave the table, place your dish in the sink, and place your cloth napkin in the dirty clothes bin. Then have fun playing Outside!

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
Contribute your comments!

ReTweak Medicine Cabinets

4/29/2017

Medicine Cabinet, Going Green, Going True Green, Earth Day, Recycle, prescription drugs, sustainability, environmental problems

How much is your Medicine Cabinet costing?

Yes, I trust you will also "retweet" this information, but I am referring to all of us "tweaking" our Medicine Cabinets. There are multiple reasons for doing so and they are: You will save Money, you will improve your Health, and yes, you will help our world's Environment!

Medicine Cabinets fall into the realm of perpetual status quo. We rarely clean them out, if at all, and they are almost always overlooked by people who do "spring cleaning" around the house.

The FIRST reason to "ReTweak" your medicine cabinet is to save you money and assist with your well being because…
Medicine Cabinets are the worst place to keep your medication!

A bathroom is plagued with wide temperature changes and moisture from hot showers to exhaust fans. From hair dryers to turning up the heat. Every time you open your medication or don't close the bottle tightly, moisture will get in and on your pills. Temperature change and moisture will degrade the life of your medications, causing them to crack, crumble, and lose their potency.

The best location for all medication is in a locked drawer, perhaps your nightstand next to your bed or a drawer behind an out-of-reach cabinet door, such as in the kitchen. Locked drawer and Out-Of-Reach are key for children's safety.

The SECOND reason will again assist with your health and help protect our world's environment because we must…
Properly discard all Expired Medicines!

Medicine Cabinets seem to collect and maintain items from years gone by. From old razor blades to unlabeled items that we don't even remember why they were used. When my Grandfather passed-over, I helped clean out his medicine cabinet. I found a glass bottle with a 1940 pharmaceutical prescription label. There was still liquid inside and the label stated, Methyl Salicylate. What in the world was this? How do I dispose of something I was unfamiliar with and didn't know? After some research, I discovered that the clear liquid was used as an external counter-irritant medication. To soothe a cut or relieve an itch from an insect's bite. The liquid is also known as Winter Green oil, something obtained by distillation from wintergreen plants since 1843. HOWEVER, if ingested this liquid can cause death.

Today methyl salicylate is an ingredient in muscle-pain relief topical products. Over application, especially with children, is very dangerous. A seventeen-year-old student of Notre Dame Academy died in 2007 from her body absorbing methyl salicylate after excessive use of a muscle pain relief cream.

Contact your local S.T.O.P. program or town recycling facility. Ask How, Where, and When, they are collecting expired medications. DO NOT POUR liquids down the drain and DO NOT THROW OUT any pills or creams. One way or another those chemicals and medication will find their way into our Waterways and our Drinking Water supply!
To learn more about this fact, consider our Water Workshop to save Money, Health, and our clean water!

Remove all labels from your medication, tear the paper up and recycle. This must be done today just to help protect yourself from Identity Theft. Then recycle any empty plastic bottles.

After your medicine cabinet has been cleaned out, I am sure you will have extra space inside. So here is another helpful accomplishment…
Place all Toothbrushes inside the Medicine Cabinet!

Every household that keeps their toothbrushes on the sink or countertop should move these toothbrushes into the medicine cabinet for better health. As you know, smells and aromas travel through the air in a room by the process of Diffusion. Bacteria will also travel through the air molecules and land on your toothbrush. The source of this bacteria can be from a sneeze or a flushed toilet when the cover is up. So put the lid down before flushing and keep your toothbrushes in a closed medicine cabinet, because just as the smell of Number 2 travels, so will bacteria.

Bill Lauto, at Going True Green
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
Contribute your comments!

Science Fiction, Telomere, Telomeres, L.J. Williams, BBV Publishing, Hitler, Living Forever, Cold Spring Harbor Lab

BBV Publishing, Telling The Untold Stories™

Quarters, Garbage, and Virtue

2/16/2017

garbage, recycling, dumping, illegal dumping, garbage collection, garbage taxes, going green, going true green, STOP program, Honor System, pay for what you throw away

Quarter Per Can

Stories can teach us a great deal. They are one of the best ways to learn from History, (and Her-story) as long as all the facts are presented. My recent January 2017, GoingTrueGreen Blog called: Quarters On Garbage Cans received an excellent level of attention. Comments and e-mails expressed admiration for my father who taught me appropriate virtues and how we seem to make things so much more complicated today.

I also received a few questions and a serious concern from long-time followers about Illegal Dumping and Littering associated with paying for only what was thrown away. The credence to this topic provoked me to believe that this follow-up GTG Blog Post was warranted. Here is my evaluation and why I favor a system that charges us only for what we throw away:

Several decades ago universal costs for garbage collection was implemented through taxes. One of the reasons for this was the collapse of the “honor” system. In our society more and more malefactors were creating serious issues by illegally dumping their garbage to avoid paying fees. The health and well-being of every adult, child, animal, and nature, was being harmed. The universal tax translated into permission for throwing away anything and everything. Along with no additional costs associated with the amount thrown away, waste became rampant.

Over the years, many rules changed. Many Townships placed limits to how much you can throw away on any given day, along with when to place various items at the curb for collection. Recycling was finally in vogue only because companies developed recycling systems that produced a profit. (Some of those recycling operations are now failing and losing money. See my GTG Blog post entitled: Is Recycling Striking Out?)

Nevertheless, things that once cost too much to throw away and the numerous items that we were not able to put into daily garbage collections are accepted today through numerous recycling programs and specific Township wide collection days for polluting items. Programs such as S.T.O.P. programs, (Stop Throwing Out Pollutants) are now nationwide. Paying a small fee only when we utilize that service will prevent waste and save us money.

garbage, recycling, dumping, illegal dumping, garbage collection, garbage taxes, going green, going true green, STOP program, Honor System, pay for what you throw away

Not What We Want

In fact, all astute garbage producers are now being paid to bring various recyclable materials to businesses that will Weigh and Pay. Your old rusted aluminum shed in your backyard may be too much volume to fit in your car trunk, but today you can have a Recycling Company pick it up. The only difference from you carting the pieces to the company address is the amount of money they pay you. For example, carting all the aluminum from a shed to the recycling business may pay you $75.00, if they pick it up at your location you may only receive $50.00. A cost of twenty-five dollars for the pickup.

Perhaps you may have broken up an old cement driveway and no way you want to pay the cost for dumping all those pounds and ounces. You also don’t want to be caught on a surveillance camera or someone’s cell phone showing you illegally dumping, thus giving you a large fine and jail time. Yes, jail time for illegally dumping will need to be the rule nationwide. Reason being that today, you don’t need to dump. Search the web, make a few calls, and you will have a business picking up your broken cement at your door. Some may even pay you for the old cement. They, in turn, will crush the old cement for making various other products that can be resold. There is always another way.

I also realize that I don’t have all the answers and the necessary recycling services may not be available in every Township to make feasible the system of only paying for what you throw away. However, that doesn’t mean we can’t get all the answers and support new recycling businesses to start up so that we can seriously consider implementing systems where we only pay for what we throw away. We the people may need to demand an evaluation of this alternative system, because the Townships may be in fear of losing tax dollars.

Bill Lauto, at Going True Green
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
Contribute your comments!

Quarters On Garbage Cans

1/25/2017

Going Green, Going True Green, bungalow, garbage tax, garbage collection tax, waste not want not, recycling, composting, woods, quarters on garbage cans

Bungalow in the Country

The story you are about to read Did Not take place hundreds of years ago in a land far away where all the people were honest. This is a story from when I was a kid and on vacation with my family.

My family rented a small country bungalow for a week in the summer. This was early in the decade that would close out with the New York Jets winning the Super Bowl, have men walk on the moon, and the New York Mets reaching their impossible dream.

I have so many memories from those special days outside the big city. Many are happy, some are sad. Yet, I treasure all the lessons learned, because today I am a better person for them…

Going Green, Going True Green, bungalow, garbage tax, garbage collection tax, waste not want not, recycling, composting, woods, quarters on garbage cans

Woods Across Road at Night

One evening, I was helping my father put out one silver metal garbage can to the road. Across the road without any curbs or sidewalks was the woods. Only three other bungalows, to each side, were in view from where we stood. The air was filled with the sounds of more living creatures acclimating to the night than I could name, but I wasn’t scared at all. I was with my Dad.

My listening attention to all of God’s animals and insects was suddenly lost as I witnessed my father take a quarter out of his pocket and put it on top of the garbage can. As he bent down to pick up a good sized rock, I asked, “What’s the quarter for?” After all, a quarter was a lot of money to me.

“To pay the garbage company for picking up our garbage in this can,” answered my father as he placed the rock on top of the quarter. “Everyone has to pay twenty-five cents for each garbage can they put out. So if you don’t have much garbage, you will not have many garbage cans and you don’t have to pay a lot for the garbage to be taken away. That is why we try not to waste anything.”

I then vaguely remember my dad sharing a story about when he was a boy my age during the Great Depression and how everything you owned, had a value. Wasting things was a sin and nobody ever went around the neighborhood to steal everyone’s quarters on top of their garbage cans. That too, was a sin.

I am gratified that I was part of that honor system and the lessons I learned. One lesson I am still acutely aware of, and this is a fact, when you Waste Not, you Want Not.

Today, I put out one garbage can, once a week, while most of my neighbors (there are many more than three in view) will put out two garbage cans, two times a week. Unfortunately the taxes we pay for garbage collection is now much more than a quarter per can.

Therefore, I am in favor of doing away with the yearly flat tax fee for garbage collections and have each household pay for the amount they throw away. Think of this for a few minutes:

We will waste less
We will help our environment
We will pay less and SAVE Money

The best approach to this, is for us to pay by the weight of our garbage that we need to be collected. This is easily accomplished by having RFID Tags on our garbage cans that match the computer data on the garbage truck so the following can be confirmed and used:

The name of the garbage can’s owner
The street and billing addresses
The Account number assigned

Going Green, Going True Green, bungalow, garbage tax, garbage collection tax, waste not want not, recycling, composting, woods, quarters on garbage cans, buffalo, buffalo NY

Pay Only for what's Thrown Away

The garbage truck picks up the can and records how much the garbage weighs, by subtracting the known weight of the can. This is already being done in European countries and some parts of America. Communities in Buffalo New York have implemented this system.

Allow me to offer just one example of this system helping us all to be better:

Currently:
You sweep up the dirt on your driveway or house floor, put it into a purchased plastic bag, and lug it to the curb. Yearly you pay your garbage collection tax and don’t save anything.

New System:
You sweep up the dirt on your driveway or kitchen floor or basement, place it in a small pail with a handle and toss it out on top of the dirt in your backyard or flowerbed.

You DO NOT spend any money buying a plastic bag.
You DO NOT hurt your back lugging it to the curb.
You DO NOT add another plastic bag to a Land Fill.
You DO NOT pay a yearly garbage collection tax.
You DO NOT bring any dirt to the curb.
You DO NOT have anything recorded or weighed.
You DO NOT pay any MONEY because you didn't throw anything away!

Eliminating our Garbage Collection Tax is one thing, paying only for the garbage we throw out is another. Yet, we all must stop wasting waste! Consider these steps to start throwing out less:
- Composting
- Recycle more than what you are recycling now [STOP buying Bottled Water!]
- Visit my Blog Categories to learn more, the Links are on the right side of this page

Now isn’t this a more sustainable way to live? Save Money, Energy, Health, and our Environment for our grandchildren. All that, without sacrificing anything!

Bill Lauto, at Going True Green
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
Contribute your comments!

Ghost In The Attic

1/12/2017

attic, vents, gable vents, attic vents, saving energy, going green, insulation, attic air, attic fans, sustainability, going true green, bill lauto, R-30, vapor barrier

Uninsulated Attic Floor

I am continuing with a ghost story to assist consumers when having energy saving work done in the attic. While some people may claim a ghost is in the attic, it is most likely the corrupt spirit of a living person trying to steal extra money out of an unsuspecting client.

I was called to conduct an energy audit on a fairly large house and as usual I started in the basement and worked up toward the attic. After some two plus hours of checking every possibility to save money and energy, the home owner informed me that the master bedroom was always freezing. A “Ghost-Like” freezing, he described.
Winter had just started and upon entering, the bedroom was as cold as it was huge. I started my hunt for all the contributing reasons.

I noticed newly installed Recessed Ceiling light fixtures in the bedroom's ceiling. The homeowner told me that he received a great deal on the labor, since he was friends with the electrician. Nevertheless, I immediately calculated the cost and savings for him to convert from the 75 watt incandescent flood lights his friend installed to 18 watt compact fluorescent floods. Today, I would recommend LEDs. Based on the local Kilowatt rate and hours of use for the bedroom lights, the payback on his cost to buy the new flood lights was less than two years. Yet, this did not solve the issue with why the bedroom was so cold. The main reason was lurking above us in the attic.

I first addressed the thermostat's location on the second floor for the bedrooms and the benefits to having a Multi-Set Back Clock thermostat installed in a different location. Then I pulled down the steps to the attic and went up without hesitation. Once my eyes cleared the hatch entrance, my portable light came upon the astonishing answer. I froze, not from the cold attic, but because of the great incompetence of some "so-called professionals." As I slowly backed down the steps and turned to look down at the homeowner, he knew from the look on my face, that something was seriously wrong.

"How well do you know this electrician friend of yours?" I asked cautiously.

"Very well, I know him for years. Since school. Why?"

"Is he a licensed electrician?"

"I think so. Why?"

"You can use my light and go up to look for yourself, but to install your new light fixtures in the ceiling, your friend moved all your insulation and stacked it up in a pile on one side. They never put the insulation back into the Bays between the wooden beams."

The homeowner took my light went up, looked around, and came down cursing while making a few angry claims.

We reviewed the solutions to his cold bedroom that included placing the current insulation back with the vapor barrier facing the attic floor. Also adding additional Un-Faced insulation on top (insulation without a vapor barrier) and the importance of always having a licensed electrician. One final note, always check on the work done yourself.

Alas... a ghost was not part of the reasons for the cold bedroom or for moving the insulation into a stack on the side.

Bill Lauto, at Going True Green
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
Contribute your comments!

Improve MPGs

6/28/2016

gas, gasoline, gas station, gas pumps, mpg, mpgs, going green, sustainability, Tesla, electric cars, solar cars, fuel cells, save money on gas mileage, save money, better mpg, tips on mpgs

Money, Gas, and MPGs

For all of us that cannot afford an electric car, such as a Tesla recharged by Solar Panels, let's look at what we can do to save money, gasoline, and our environment. I promise, you do not know all these items, especially number ten.

First, despite the fact that I Do Not own a car, I am still contributing to many car created issues. The reasons are because while I do not own a car and I use public transportation, I do drive. I will borrow a car, rent a car, or drive my neighbor to the doctor with her car. So this GoingTrueGreen Blog post is also for everyone living in a city that doesn't own a car, but can rent or borrow a car for whatever reason.

Identifying the problem is easy, it is "Poor Gas Mileage," aka low MPGs or Miles Per Gallon of gasoline used. This costs us money and lots of it, because this slow extraction of our dollars paid per gallon is rarely noticed. If your car is only getting 17 miles per gallon and you should be getting a maximum of 32, something is wrong! Let us review the possibilities contributing to your money evaporation...

1) Tune Up:
When was the last time you had your car checked by a Double R car mechanic? That is to say, someone who is Reliable and Reputable. Do you actually know the person? Did you take the time to get to know your mechanic from "day one" and were you able to become friends?

2) Oil Change:
I ask the questions in number one because your Tune Up must include an Oil Change and new Oil Filter as well as a possible new air filter, spark plugs, and cleaning your fuel injector. This is why a Double R mechanic is so important. Thus, when you pick up your car, you know the job was done right.

3) Trunk Transfer:
We have all seen this, open a car trunk and there is no empty space! From lawn chairs to tire chains, beach umbrellas to snow shovels, a case of Windex to tool kits, sporting equipment to sleeping bags, and even additional spare tires.

All of the above is deadweight and that destroys your miles per gallon! Seasonal items must be taken out and put in your basement or closet until that season returns. If you are no longer Coaching the little league team, get the bags of equipment out and you know there is more than one bag. Stop dragging along the extra weight that is costing you money and not helping our environment.

4) Wash The Car:
Yes, a car covered with layers of dirt will destroy the aerodynamics of your car. Gas mileage will decrease and so will the amount of money in your pocket. Get a bucket of water (preferably rain water collected off the roof of your house or apartment building with a mesh filter screen), some all natural soap and wash your car! This is great exercise and therapeutic, because you worked hard to own or rent a car and being accountable helps us appreciate the value.

5) Windows, Open or Closed:
This one has variables, so let us review one at a time...
a) When you are driving around town, in a city, or in traffic, open your windows and enjoy the FREE air and breeze. If rain will enter through the open windows, then just open the vents in your car to let the air circulate.
b) When you start to increase speed, let us say above 40 miles per hour and will be driving at this rate for some time, such as on a highway, using the air conditioner in your car is more fuel efficient. When windows are open at high speeds, drag forces will build up and again, destroy the aerodynamics of your car.

6) Coasting:
This is Physics. Get your foot off the gas pedal when going down hill! The car's forward momentum will do just fine when going down a hill, so no need to keep pushing gasoline into the engine until you go below the minimum speed limit. Also keep the car in gear, don't put the car into neutral.

7) Big Mac Containers:
Look up on the roof! Is that a Ski Rack? No, it is Big Fast Food Container! Whatever you have on your car roof, if the roof rack, ski rack, or enclosed container, is not being used, then take it off. Even the best aerodynamic designed container will eat into your gas mileage. For example, instead of 26 miles per gallon, you will only get 23 miles per gallon. Also if you have a Bike Rack on the back and it's not needed, take it off!

gas, gasoline, gas station, gas pumps, mpg, mpgs, going green, sustainability, Tesla, electric cars, solar cars, fuel cells, save money on gas mileage, save money, better mpg, tips on mpgs

Extra Weight and Extra Drag

gas, gasoline, gas station, gas pumps, mpg, mpgs, going green, sustainability, Tesla, electric cars, solar cars, fuel cells, save money on gas mileage, save money, better mpg, tips on mpgs

Bike Racks

8) Bird's Eye View and the Internet:
Short or long trips all can have traffic. Use your Internet connection to get a bird's eye view of the roads and the traffic situation. With this data you can plot alternative routes with your GPS to avoid the traffic jams and save money.

9) Got Gas:
There is no harm in reviewing the type of gasoline you buy and what is best for your car's engine. Check your owner's manual or with your reliable and reputable car mechanic. Also never buy gas at a station that just had a delivery. Wait until tomorrow so all the sediments and dirt settles. You don't want to pump that stuff into your car.

10) Early Bird Gets More Gas:
This is some wild physics that gets you more gasoline for the buck. Try to always fill up your gas tank early in the morning! All petroleum has more density under colder temperatures and that tank in the ground is coldest early in the morning. All gas station pumps deliver gasoline based on flow rate, so if one gallon is provided within 10 seconds, you will receive more fuel in that 10 seconds when under cold morning ground temperatures compared to the afternoon. For example, if the morning ground temperature is 59 degrees Fahrenheit compared to a hot summer afternoon when the ground temperature may reach 95 degrees, you will receive about 2.5% more gasoline for the same money.

11) Bill Of Goods:
Don't be sold a Bill of Goods when it comes to all the magic pills, liquids, and contraptions, to INCREASE fuel efficiency. The only magic here is a DECREASE in your money for the majority of the cases.

12) Beautiful Colors:
When buying or renting a car, pick a light color interior. Unless you live where cold weather prevails most of the year. With light color on the inside, the less your car's air conditioner has to work. End result is better gas mileage.

13) Check Pressure:
We all should know this one, How much air should be in your tires and check the air pressure often! Again, your owner's manual is the source to learn how much air pressure should be in your tires. Also you need to check the tire pressure before each trip and at least once a month.

So when the rubber hits the road with all of the above in mind, you should have up to 15% better miles per gallon. Translated into money, here is one example: If you spend $1,200 a year on gasoline, that will be a $180.00 savings. Not bad, just more money to save towards that electric solar recharged Tesla car!

Bill Lauto , GTG
Environmental Scientist
 International Sustainability and Energy Consultant 
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BBV Publishing, Telomere, Telomeres, L.J. Williams, Cold Spring Harbor National Lab

Telling the Untold Stories: TELOMERE by L. J. Williams

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Author:
Bill Lauto
Environmental Science and Energy Consultant

Bill Lauto, Environmentalist, Energy Consultant

Bill Lauto came on the scene in 1981 to present facts and teach details about how we can save our environment without making sacrifices. He demonstrated how correctly implementing the technology we already obtained in 1981, allowed us to save Money, Energy and Earth. He voice was one among the few who taught green facts long before anyone else talked about Going Green.
Bill Lauto's Credentials
By 1994 the Internet was being explored as a tool to provide energy saving information to all of America by Mr. Lauto. Having the foresight, he first launched the Light Bulb HotLine web site off of the company's Domain in 1996. Then in April of 2001, EnergyHotwire.com became a resource. Today,
GoingTrueGreen.com has joined in to help dispel the mis-information and provide the facts about truly Going Green.

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